jrican Ajjricultuvist, February 3, 1923 
91 
» 
Pruning the Pear 
Quality and Quantity Call for Winter Work 
T here is no variety 
of fruit grown that 
so rewards in flavor as well as in pro¬ 
duction of quality and even in quan¬ 
tity as does the pear^ Why, then, neg¬ 
lect this type of tree and let it develop 
spur is on five year old wood from a 
fifteen year old tree 
regardless of shape and without repres¬ 
sive pruning which is so necessary? 
The pear is pruned dilferently through¬ 
out various periods of its growth 
because it varies in its habits of growth. 
One habit that seems common to all 
varieties of pears is the production of 
fruit on spurs. Seldom does the pear pro¬ 
duce fruit on the terminal buds. Its fruit 
spurs (Fig. 1) are located well in on the 
branches and along the leader stems. 
The object then, is to prune and train 
that it may have a well balanced head 
with strong well arranged branches and 
thus prevent breaking when the tree is 
heavily loaded with fruit. This manner 
will also facilitate spraying, thinning, 
and harvesting. 
Any pear tree that is pruned in such 
a way as to admit sunshine and air has 
less chance of disease getting a foot¬ 
hold and the fruit buds are more evenly 
distributed. It is true that more fruit 
buds and flowers may be formed on an 
unpruned tree but they are frequently 
out of reach and the fruit produced is 
inferior in quality and size as well as 
in beauty. While sunshine and air are 
both important factors in fruit produc¬ 
tion, one must not cut out the branches 
so as to expose the bark to the direct 
Fig. 2.—On left, Fruit buds on the 
ends of spurs. On right. Leaf buds on 
the previous year growth 
I’ays of the sun. This frequently causes 
sun scald which injures the growth 
and health of the tree and diminishes 
Ii’uit production. 
A Danger of Too Severe Pruning 
Too severe pruning frequently en¬ 
courages a growth of water sprouts 
along the limbs which if allowed to 
grow will form such a tangled mass 
that the fruit buds and spurs soon fail 
to function. If the tree is weak and 
only makes a growth 
of two or three inches 
in a season, severe pruning will some¬ 
times stimulate vigorous growth, pro¬ 
viding the plant is free from insects 
and disease , and planted in the right 
type of soil and drained. 
In building a young pear tree the 
lower branches are cut considerably less 
than the upper branches, not only to 
give the tree the desired form but to 
throw the strength into and to encour¬ 
age the growth of the lower limbs. 
This practice is quite important because 
in developing the lower limbs, one also 
encourages the growth of fruit spurs. 
The pear tree may be pruned any 
time during the dormant period which 
is approximately from November 
through April. It has been found that 
pear tre^s pruned in March and April 
will heal over the wounds much faster 
than wounds made in November and 
allowed to dry during the winter. This 
is particularly true with large limbs; it 
matters but little when small limbs are 
cut off providing the buds are not out. 
Shaping the Head 
In training or shaping the head one 
must select one of the following forms: 
The pyramidal form, the natural forms 
or the vase form. 
The pyramidal form seems to be most 
popular among commercial growers and 
it certainly is practical where a tree 
like the Kieffer bears a heavy crop. 
Fig. 3.—A neglected pear (Kieffer) 
pruned back. Note the long fruit 
spurs along the limbs and trunk. 
Pruning in this case does not retard 
bearing but encourages fit 
\ 
This seems to be the natural shape of 
the Flemish Beauty, Bartlett, Sheldon 
and Duchesse d’Angouleme. In pruning 
and training a tree to the pyramidal 
form a single , upright shoot which de¬ 
velops one year from the time of bud¬ 
ding should have about one-half of its 
growth removed. The second year, one 
of the upper buds will take the place 
of the main shoot and elongate while a 
number of secondary branches will 
form mostly well up on the central 
shoot. The short and weaker branches 
will be near the ground. Three to five 
of these lower secondary branches 
should be selected and cut back to from 
three to six inches from the leader. The 
upper branches should be cut back and 
the strength thrown into the lower 
limbs. 
The next pruning of this same form 
in early spring, is carried out by select- ‘ 
ing the leader and cutting it back suf¬ 
ficiently to force the growth of buds 
which form the next whorl of limbs. 
With any of the standard varieties 
(Bartlett) this group or whorl of 
branches should not be over 16 inches 
from the ground. The Orientals 
(Kieffer) should develop the whorl of 
limbs not more than 20 inches from the 
surface while the Dwarf varieties are 
started about one foot above the surface 
soil. Each group of branches or whorls 
of branches should be pruned in such a 
way as to be longer than the whorl 
immediately above it. The lower 
(Continued on page 101) 
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